24 Day Six Redo
by The Ascended Ancient
Summary: Season six left me disappointed, so here's my version of it. Some things stay President Wayne Palmer, Jack Bauer's personal crisis, Abu Fayed's grudge, etc. , but they are woven in a new storyline where nukes aren't the biggest threat out there today.
1. 9:00 am to 10:00 am

The following takes place between 9:00 am and 10:00 am

_24 Day Six Redo_  
Written By: The Ascended Ancient

A/N: Ok, I really wasn't happy with season six. I felt the show tried to take things too far, making the situation so extreme that it became utterly unbelievable. And along the way, this crazy, twisted story fell back on reusing old storylines that had been overplayed already, not the least of which being a third nuclear threat plotline and a rehashing of the invoking of the 21st amendment from season two, albeit with a different outcome. Overall, I felt Day Six was the worst so far, and I am sincerely hoping that Day Seven is better. However, until then, I've decided to post a rewritten outline of what Day Six could've been. The few things that I liked in the season, including Jack's trauma (which will be extended over a much longer episode arc and will have a greater impact on the story), will be woven into a completely different plotline that deals with a completely different terrorist threat (the threat may seem nearly identical at the beginning, but I promise you it is going in a very different direction than the TV show went). Now, on with the story.

_The following takes place between 9:00 am and 10:00 am_

Events occur in real time

9:00 am – A man steps out of his house and gets into his car. Before he gets the chance to even turn the key in the ignition, a man who was hiding in his back seat reaches over and jams a hypodermic needle into his neck. The man struggles for a few moments before falling over dead. The killer quickly moves him into the passenger seat and places himself behind the wheel, driving the car out onto the road.

9:02 am – In Washington, D.C., President Wayne Palmer gathers his cabinet members for an emergency briefing. Among those present are Chief of Staff Tom Lennox and National Security Advisor Karen Hayes. Videoconferencing in are others, including Vice-President Noah Daniels and Secretary of Defense Audrey Raines. At the moment, Lennox is checking in with everyone as they await the President.

9:04 am – In Los Angeles, Bill Buchanan gets a phone call from President Palmer, who instructs him to gather his team immediately. The President wants CTU Los Angeles to quarterback this operation. When Buchanan asks what operation the President is talking about, Wayne tells him that he'll find out within the hour.

9:09 am – In the skies just off the Pacific coastline, Special Operative Cheng of the Chinese Government gets a call from President Palmer. Cheng asks if China's demands are being met, and Wayne assures him that the final preparations to finalize the deal are under way. Cheng then calls his superiors in China to relay this information. They instruct him to keep the plane just outside of US airspace until final confirmation in case the Americans try to pull something. They both agree that if the deal doesn't go through then it's not worth releasing their prisoner.

9:15 am – Geoffery Thompson, an analyst at an NSA think tank just outside of Manhattan arrives at work. His superiors inform him that today's assignment will be to work on scenarios to counter a broad-scale domestic threat.

9:17 am – The killer from the car drops the body off in a dumpster, but not before stealing the man's wallet. It contains a CTU keycard, which he immediately places into a machine to reprogram it.

9:20 am – President Palmer arrives to brief his staff. He informs them that several days ago he was contacted by a man named Abu Fayed. Overall, he is a mid level player in the network of Middle Eastern terrorists, with only a small cell at his command. However, he has already demonstrated how dangerous he is. President Palmer makes reference to an explosion at an office building in Los Angeles that was declared at accident in the official report, but was in fact an act of terrorism orchestrated by Fayed. So far they have been unable to get any leads on him, and considering his ability to penetrate and inflict damage upon a high-value target like that office building means that he is dangerous. Returning to the subject of the phone call, Wayne tells his cabinet members that Fayed claimed to be capable of carrying out a wide range of such attacks with impunity, however he only has one demand: that Jack Bauer be turned over to him.

9:26 am – In a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, Abu Fayed gives out orders to his men. He lays out a series of street addresses that are clearly his next targets. He says that if President Palmer doesn't come through and confirm the deal within the next half hour they are to launch the attack.

9:28 am – Ryland Williams, District Director of CTU, gets off the phone after confirming to Bill Buchanan that he doesn't know anything more about what's going on than he does. Going back out onto the floor of his office, he sees someone he doesn't recognize. It's the killer from the car, who identifies himself as Jacob Sanders and claims to be a new employee assigned to do some maintenance work on the servers. He produces his access card to prove it, and everything checks out.

9:32 am – CTU's full staff begins to arrive. Some of them are slow getting in; apparantly they were told that they would get a few days off after a long case they had recently dealt with. Milo Pressman is already there, he's the head of the beta shift analysts. Greg Peterson, CTU's new second-in-command, and Curtis Manning, head of field ops, have just arrived. Meanwhile, Chloe and Morris O'Brian are said to be only about five minutes out. Peterson meets with Buchanan, and Bill jokes that even though Greg has only been at the post for a little over a week he's already seen a huge amount of action, what with the incident two days ago and whatever was brewing right now. Greg insists that he's up to the challenge.

9:34 am – Back at the President's briefing, an obviously upset Audrey Raines struggles to remain calm while reiterating what Wayne has just said for clarity. Apparently, Jack killed Fayed's brother during his Special Forces days, and Fayed wants revenge. If they turn Jack over to him, not only will Fayed not make any more attacks on American soil, but he'll also hand over intelligence that will allow US forces to locate and kill Hamri Al-Assad, a very powerful Middle Eastern separatist responsible for masterminding a great deal of the terrorist and insurgent activity throughout the region. She finishes off by stating that all of that would be a remarkable result, but she didn't realize the United States government participated in assisted murder to accomplish its ends. Wayne sympathizes with Audrey; he claims that this decision isn't any easier for him. He doesn't want to see Jack die, however he accuses Audrey of being naive with her statement that this is something the US government hasn't done before. Hard choices have to be made in the interest of national security. Wayne believes that he's made the right decision, and he tells Audrey that if her emotional state prevents her from performing her duties, he'll relieve her of them for the remainder of the day. Audrey assures him that she will carry out her orders.

9:37 am – Jacob Sanders enters the server room at the district office and connects his laptop to the mainframe. He immediately tracks down some restricted files, and with a little hacking is able to bypass the security and begin to download them.

9:39 am – At CTU, Bill briefs his staff on what he knows, which isn't much. President Palmer has made CTU LA the point unit in an operation that will begin very shortly. The details haven't come forward yet, but every agency in the country is on high alert. For the moment, they need to assume the worst and plan for it accordingly. When the call comes in, Bill wants his office already on the ball.

9:44 am - After a few more minutes of debate, Wayne finally quiets all other objections to his plan, and gets most of his advisors, even Audrey, to back it. Vice-President Daniels and a few others are holdouts, and Wayne informs them politely that he'll take their advice into consideration, however he's made his decision. Lastly, he informs everyone that what has been discussed there is under the highest level of classification.

9:46 am – Outside the meeting room, Tom Lennox pulls Wayne aside for a moment and tells him that he doesn't need to convene the cabinet for everything. Wayne replies by saying that he likes to have everyone onboard with what he's doing. His brother once underestimated the danger that a cabinet that doesn't have faith in you can become, and he's not about to make that same mistake, "especially considering what's going to happen over the next twenty-four hours." Tom asks what Wayne would do if history ends up repeating itself. Wayne dodges the question.

9:48 am – Milo Pressman prepares to check out for the day now that the Alpha shift in in, but Chloe stops him. She says that they need their best people on station right now, and that includes him. For the remainder of the day, he'll be working for her.

9:50 am – Wayne returns to his office and makes a call to Bill to give him the full briefing on the situation.

9:51 am – Geoffery and his team make their preliminary report: a widespread attack in a major metropolitan area under the parameters laid out by their supervisor would result in anywhere from two to three thousand casualties, and if it was carried out swiftly enough it could be unstoppable.

9:53 am – Cheng receives a call from his government saying that the Americans have kept up their end of the bargain. He orders his pilot to set a course for Los Angeles and calls the President, thanking him for working out this excellent deal and informing him that they will be landing in LAX in thirty minutes. He then goes to the back of the plane and removes the hood from his prisoner, revealing a bearded and disheveled Jack Bauer. He informs Jack that they shall be landing shortly; his government has finally set him free.

9:56 am – Buchanan is obviously very troubled by his conversation with the President. Nevertheless, he calls his team in to brief them.

9:57 am – Fayed receives a call from Palmer telling him that everything has been set in motion. Jack Bauer will be his within the hour. Fayed then proceeds to call his men and tell them to make sure that they're in position. Phase One is almost complete, and they should be ready to carry out the attacks for Phase Two in two hours. When this is all done, according to Fayed, the people of his country, "will learn that the coward Al-Assad is not the only man they can turn to for deliverance."

9:59 am – Sanders finishes his work in the server room by opening up one of the mainframes and placing a bomb inside. It has a timer and it counting down from ninety minutes. Sanders replaces the panel on the mainframe to conceal what he's put inside and quickly leaves the room.

_10:00 am_

A/N: So, not much happened action wise in this one. That'll change quite soon, trust me on that one. And I know that the threat assessment included that only puts three thousand people at risk is a rather small number for a show where hundreds of thousands of lives have been at stake, but trust me: this story, in true 24 tradition, will get much, much more complicated as it goes along, and the stakes will get much, much higher.

**By the way, REVIEW!!**


	2. 10:00 am to 11:00 am

The following takes place between 10:00 am and 11:00 am

_The following takes place between 10:00 am and 11:00 am_

10:00 am – The timer on the bomb continues to count down. One hour and fifty-nine minutes remain until it will detonate.

10:01 am – Audrey calls the Pentagon and orders the Joint Chiefs to issue orders to their commanders on the ground in the Middle East to prepare for a major strike before the end of the day. When asked for details, she refuses to give them just yet. After finishing the call, she sighs in frustration and fights back tears before proceeding with her duties.

10:02 am - Karen Hayes enters the Oval Office to brief the President on the analysis that the NSA think tank and several other organizations have come up with about the possible damage that Fayed's attacks could inflict. When she's finished she asks Wayne if he's at all concerned that Fayed might not follow through on his end of the agreement. Wayne denies that ferverently. Nevertheless, he asks her to make sure that all assets in the LA area remain on standby.

10:05 am – At CTU LA, Chloe is outraged by what is being planned. She argues that they can't allow Jack to just be handed over to murderers. Buchanan tells her that the decision has been made at the highest levels. Chloe suggests calling Audrey and getting her to try and get through to the President. Bill tells her that Audrey has already signed off on the deal, which shocks Chloe enough into backing down for the moment.

10:08 am – Sanders drives away from the district building in the car he stole earlier. He calls one of his superiors and informs them that district has been dealt with. He's proceeding to the next target. On the seat next to him, the access card has again been inserted into the reprogramming device.

10:10 am – Bill and Curtis leave CTU and head out to LAX. The Chinese plane will be landing at an isolated section of the airport in about twenty minutes.

10:11 am – Fayed greets John Greene, an American associate of his, as he arrives at the warehouse. Greene is the man Sanders spoke to earlier on the phone. Fayed assures Greene that everything is on schedule on his end, and Greene assures Fayed of the same thing. They say that at noon this country will begin to burn.

10:13 am – Cheng is informed by his pilot that they're now in American airspace. ETA to landing is fifteen minutes.

10:17 am – Unable to concentrate on her work, Chloe steps away from her station. Morris attempts to comfort her, but she all but runs off before he could say anything. Flustered, Morris returns to his work, only to be interrupted by Greg Peterson, who pulls him aside and orders him to get Chloe back at her station. Greg says that he understands the kind of emotional pressure she's under because of her close friendship with Jack, but she's the best they have and he needs her at her post. Morris asks why Greg is asking him to do this instead of just ordering her, and Greg replies that the forceful approach is a last resort; he's hoping she can be persuaded to return to her station by friendlier means. The best person to accomplish that, in Greg's opinion, is Morris, who is "her ex-husband, and if the rumor mill is right, her current roommate."

10:20 am – After nearly breaking down yet again, Audrey calls the President. She insists that Wayne let her speak to Jack before he's given to Fayed. Wayne is hesitant about the idea until she all but begs for just a few minutes with him. Although it clearly wasn't something that was planned for this operation, he consents to Audrey's request.

10:22 am – Morris catches up with Chloe and speaks to her. She is really upset about what's happening to Jack. Morris points out that Jack's never hesitated to put his life on the line to save innocent Americans. By sacrificing himself here, he'll be doing just that. He'd want it to be done if there was no other way, and the President has to believe that there was no other way if he authorized this. Chloe doesn't get any less upset, but she does accept this explanation.

10:24 am – Bill and Curtis arrive at LAX. They and the agents accompanying them move out onto the tarmac to await Jack's arrival.

10:26 am – Sanders arrives at the main local police precinct. He uses his CTU card to pose as an agent, and his latest reprogramming has left him with a new backstory. He's now viewed as an aid to District Director Williams. He asks to speak with the chief of police, a request that is granted. He's ushered into a waiting room and assured that the chief will be with him in a few minutes.

10:30 am – Fayed leaves the warehouse with a handful of men and moves to a new location. Since he can't risk CTU tracking him back to the warehouse, he's chosen a secondary site with a secure exit. He'll deal with Bauer there, and then vanish before they can even consider coming after him.

10:32 am – The plane lands at LAX, and Cheng hands Jack over to Bill and Curtis. The two of them take Jack into a hanger and brief him on the situation. Jack is silent the whole time. In fact, he's more than just silent: he's completely unresponsive. President Palmer is put on the phone, and Jack says nothing to him. Finally, Audrey is given her chance to speak. The moment she says his name, a tear rolls down Jack's cheek, and he responds in turn. The two have a touching conversation, reaffirming their love for one another and wishing that things could've gone differently for them. When the conversation is over, Jack begins to sob uncontrollably.

10:39 am – Sanders finally gets to meet with the police chief. He immediately hands the man a prisoner transfer form for a woman named Charline Mireau. The chief is surprised by this; CTU had turned her over to his precinct earlier today, and in a few hours FBI will be arriving to claim her. Sanders insists that plans have changed, and that Charline must be turned back over to him. The chief presses for details, and Sanders resists, claiming that it's all classified. Eventually, though, Sanders points out that until recently Charline worked for the United States government, and she made some friends in very high places, including quite a few in the FBI. CTU, Sanders claims, is no longer confident that the bureau can be trusted until a full investigation is made. The chief is troubled and wants to call this in, but Sanders insists that such a thing cannot happen. Once the real prisoner is secured back at CTU, a double will be brought in to replace her and be collected by the FBI. If someone in the bureau tries to break her out, they'll learn who that person is through this way. The chief is still hesitant, but he accepts Sanders' explanation.

10:44 am – Bill and Curtis talk about Jack. Neither man have ever seen Jack get so emotional before, and they are really concerned about it. Before they can get much further in their discussion, Jack rejoins them, having just used a makeshift facility to clean up the best he could. They tentatively ask him if he knows what they want from him, and Jack simply nods. They go into details and ask him if he understands again, and Jack nods a second time. They decide that they can't wait much longer, and so they take Jack out of the hanger and into the car to be taken to Fayed.

10:47 am – Fayed receives a call from President Palmer telling him that Jack is on his way. Fayed gives the President the address of the house he's currently at. Fayed then goes into the living room, which has been redecorated into a makeshift torture chamber. He's looking forward to what's about to happen.

10:48 am – Sanders signs Charline out of the precinct, assuring the chief that he will return within the hour with the double. Once they're both in the car, Charline bursts out laughing, finding it hilarious that the chief bought the double story. Sanders remains professional and insists that they need to get off the grid now. He doubts that it will take more than an hour before they realize that they've been tricked. Once that happens, a great deal of resources will be devoted towards bringing her back in. They need to make sure their trail is long cold by that time.

10:51 am – Back at CTU, Greg gets everyone's attention to announce that he's just confirmed that Jack is being transported to the address Fayed provided them. "If all goes well, this should be over within the next hour or so."

10:55 am – Wayne calls Tom Lennox into his office to let him know that it's officially begun. Tom is glad to hear this, and suggests that the President should "make the call." Wayne agrees and asks for privacy. Tom gives it to him, and he pulls out a special cell phone from his desk. He enters the number saved under speed dial one and waits as it rings.

10:57 am – Bill, Curtis, and Jack arrive at Fayed's safehouse. Fayed greets them personally and assures Buchanan that there will be no more attacks from his end today. Bill demands the intel on Al-Assad immediately, but Fayed refuses, saying that he'll turn that over once he's done with Jack, which will probably be in the next hour or so. Buchanan insists that he's not about to turn Jack over without that intel, but Fayed points out that Bill knows where his safehouse is now, and he has the resources to monitor it. Since Fayed can't escape, his only way out is to keep to the deal. If he doesn't, they can easily bring him down. Bill is still wary about this, but any hesitation he still has is cut off when Fayed informs him that if his men don't receive a phone call from him within the next five minutes they will launch their attacks all across LA. If he doesn't have Bauer by then, he won't be making the call. Buchanan finally caves and hands Jack over.

10:59 am – Back at the warehouse, Green and Fayed's men are surprised when a squad of masked men barge in. There's a standoff between the two groups for a moment until the leader of the intruders reveals himself to be Hamri Al-Assad and demands to know where Fayed is.

_11:00 am_

A/N: Well, things are moving along a little faster in this chapter. My first one was really all exposition, which may or may not have been a good thing, time will tell.

Once again, I'd like to ask for REVIEWS!! I love reading them, I write for them, so leave them.


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